The Chinese government has had its fair share of criticism on a number of applications available in the App Store, and it looks like Apple has finally decided to deal with that criticism. Thousands of apps were taken offline in the Chinese region, mostly apps related to (illegal) gambling and lotteries.

According to reports from local media, Apple has removed around 25,000 apps, although the company never stated a specific amount. The reason for removal was quickly shared in a public post, stating that “gambling apps are illegal and not allowed on the App Store in China.”

“We have already removed many apps and developers for trying to distribute illegal gambling apps on our App Store, and we are vigilant in our efforts to find these and stop them from being on the App Store,” they added.

Earlier, Apple refused to comply with the requests of the Chinese government to delete or disable apps distributed in the Chinese app store. However, the Chinese authorities would like to see things taken a step further as the apps that were previously available still operate and can even receive updates.

Aside from gambling, the Chinese government requested a year ago that all VPN apps were to be removed from the application market for iOS and macOS. China still has strict censorship rules on the internet, and using a VPN would allow users to bypass that.